I'm sure there are many, many articles similar to this one about losing a dog, but I read this one this morning and it touched me. So, although we have 2 dogs in our home, we each had one before we were married. Today, I'd like to share a little about the dog that was "mine" before she was "ours", Genny.

Abbey and Genny, circa 2012

I decided to get a puppy when I started my graduate position at UD. The position required me to first move to Cambridge, MD (October 2009) to work as a technician for 3 months and then move to Milton, DE in January to start my research. I knew I'd be alone 95% of the time and that this was a great time to get a dog. I've always been a fan of rescue dogs, in fact our family dog, Shelly, was a rescue and she was by far the greatest dog I've ever known. But, I was just getting into hunting and I wanted to get a lab that could eventually be a hunting buddy.

September 18, 2009

I searched for a while and eventually found AKC labs in Kirkwood, PA that were born on July 19, 2009. Dave and I visited to make sure it wasn't a puppy mill, and it certainly was not. The pups were all in a backyard with their mother and "aunt". When we visited there was a huge black male puppy who I nearly chose. Until I met the little yellow one who was calm and already fetching perfectly. We picked her up and she let us pinch her toes and hold her upside down (good ways to check to see if a dog will make a good hunting dog). She was really a sweetheart and I knew then that she'd be coming home with me.

Genny's first Christmas and Shelly

The lady informed me that the puppy I chose was a "dudley" as far as AKC standards were concerned meaning she has yellow hair but chocolate lab genes for pigmentation of her eyes and nose. The yellow lab "standard" is brown/dark eyes and black nose. So, Genny is still considered a pure-bred labrador but would not be able to be a "show" dog. Didn't bother me!

October 2009

Dave and I picked Genny up on September 18, 2009 and brought her home to live in Dave's apartment for a couple weeks before I moved to Cambridge. She is named after the beer from NY, Genesee Cream Ale for several
reasons. It's a tasty beer, Abbey is also named after a NY beer, and
the colors of the can were similar to her colors. Abbey was not a fan of this new addition who wanted to play NONSTOP. Abbey is a laid back dog and the hyper activity that was Genny (and still is) didn't mesh with her idea of a good time. However, she got used to it and now they are truly great friends who even occasionally share a pillow at bedtime. =)

Playing at Broadkill Beach, DE, circa 2011

Good dog. Circa 2011

Genny is a really good dog. She learned to ring a bell to go outside very quickly and was generally very easy to train. She's a great retriever and absolutely loves to run and swim and fetch. She's easily the fastest swimmer I've ever seen and would probably drown other dogs just to get the stick. Her favorite toy is by far the frisbee, we can't even say the word without her going absolutely nuts. Genny is really a quirky dog though, because she is afraid of nearly everything. I know it's my fault, she heard a gunshot too early on in life and now is pretty skittish. She even flinches when you pour food into her stainless steel bowl, even though it has happened 2 times a day, every day, for her entire life! I still think we could get her used to a gunshot and she'd be a great hunting dog, but she's 5.5 years old now and we haven't taken her once. This year's season just wrapped up, so maybe we'll work on it and try it next year. Regardless, she's a great dog and we love her so much.